Swahili trading cities and Great Zimbabwe

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Two maps of the same area, "Kilwa and its trade, 1100s–1500s". Map 1 (Kilwa's reach): Kilwa, on an island off today's Tanzania. At its height in the 1400s, Kilwa ruled or claimed Malindi, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Pemba and Sofala. Map 2 (finds and goods): Kilwa's own coins, made for about 500 years (about 1100 to 1600), found across the region, including at Great Zimbabwe; gold reaching Kilwa through its control of Sofala's gold trade. Key: a star is Kilwa; a circle is a coin find; a yellow dot is gold. Note: the word Swahili comes from an Arabic word for coasts and means "people of the coasts". Ibn Battuta visited Kilwa in 1331. Summary in our words, not a quotation: he called Kilwa a very fine, well-built town, and a merchant told him that gold dust was brought to Sofala from far inland.

2. 1.

   Where is Kilwa, Luz asks?

   • Inland, beside the gold fields
   • On the Atlantic coast of Africa
   • In Arabia
   • On an island off Tanzania
3. 2.

   For about how long did Kilwa make its own coins, Noah asks?

   • About 50 years
   • About 2,700 years
   • About 1,100 years
   • About 500 years
4. 3.

   Pia reads both maps. Kilwa's coins were found at Great Zimbabwe. What does that suggest?

   • Great Zimbabwe made Kilwa's coins
   • The two places were linked by trade
   • The coins show no link
   • Kilwa ruled Great Zimbabwe and its people
5. 4.

   Ren reads both maps. Why did controlling Sofala matter to Kilwa?

   • Sofala was in China
   • Sofala had no trade
   • Sofala's gold trade made Kilwa rich
   • Sofala made Kilwa's coins
6. 5.

   Tala reads both maps and the note. Where did the gold dust come from, as the merchant told Ibn Battuta?

   • From ships sailing in from India
   • From Ibn Battuta's home in Morocco
   • From far inland, to Sofala
   • From mines on Kilwa's island
7. 6.

   What does the word Swahili mean, Zee asks?

   • Gold traders
   • People of the desert
   • People of the mountains
   • People of the coasts
8. 7.

   Why is a coin found far from Kilwa useful evidence, Bo asks?

   • It shows the coin was lost at sea
   • It shows that the gold came from Kilwa
   • It shows Kilwa's people moved there
   • It shows where Kilwa's trade reached
9. 8.

   Esme's note says, "Kilwa dug its gold from mines on its own island." Which fix is right?

   • Leave it: Kilwa had gold mines
   • Change "Kilwa" to "Cairo"
   • Change "gold" to "silk"
   • Change it: the gold came through Sofala
10. 9.

    Jun's note says, "Ibn Battuta visited Kilwa in 1913." Which fix is right?

    • Change "1913" to "1331"
    • Change "visited" to "built"
    • Leave it: the date is right
    • Change "Kilwa" to "Mali"
11. 10.

    Kira's note says, "Kilwa's coins stayed in Kilwa." Which fix is right?

    • Leave it: no coin left the island
    • Change "coins" to "ships"
    • Change it: they were found across the region
    • Change "Kilwa" to "China"